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Bible Study Discussions with Gary Panell

Question: Is it wrong for a Christian to gamble?

Answer: I will give you the references and the statistics and let you come to your own conclusion.

"So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners." (Proverbs 1:19)

"An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end." (Proverbs 20:21)

"He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 28:19,20)

"A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him." (Proverbs 28:22)

"As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, so is he who gets riches, but not by right; it will leave him in the midst of his days, and at his end he will be a fool." (Jeremiah 17:11)

[Jesus said:] "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." (Matthew 13:22)

"And He [Jesus] said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

16 "Then He [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, saying: 'The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? 18 So he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." 20 But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?

21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.'" (Luke 12:15-21)

6 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

6 "But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?" (James 2:6,7)

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days." (James 5:1-3)

Dr. Doug Stauffer has made these following lists about gambling from his article "What's Wrong with Gambling?" Here are some of these:

1. The Bible condemns covetousness and materialism. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." (Exodus 20:17)

2. Honest work is commanded. Gambling encourages a something for nothing attitude. 10 "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread." (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12)

3. Gambling is addictive. 12 "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Corinthians 6:12)

4. You are supposed to work for what you get. 11 "Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase." (Proverbs 13:11)

Judge for yourselves how you would rate Las Vegas, NV with the effects of gambling-they have sown a culture of greed and exploitation:

Nevada ranks:

1st in suicide
1st in divorce
1st in high school dropouts
1st in homicide against women
At the top in gambling addictions
3rd in bankruptcies 3rd in abortion
4th in rape 4th in out-of-wedlock births
4th in alcohol related deaths
5th in crime
6th in the number of prisoners locked up

"A recent magazine listed Las Vegas as "One of the 10 Most Corrupt Cities in America."

"Eight months after casinos opened in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Gulfport Police Department noted the following increases: murder increased by 75%; rape increased by 200%; robbery increased by 311%; assaults increased by 64%; burglary increased by 100%; vehicle theft increased by 160%."

"Three years after casinos arrived, Atlantic City went from 50 th to 1 st in percapita crime."

"Almost 20 percent of wife abuse cases involve domestic disputes related to gambling, according to Gambling: A Deadly Game, written by Larry Braidfoot"

"Child abuse increases dramatically when gambling comes into an area, according to a study done by Maryland's attorney general. The Gamblers Anonymous survey revealed that 10 percent of gambler's children were abused by the gambler; 25 percent of children had significant behavioral problems such as poor school work, running away, drugs, alcohol or gambling of their own; and 50 percent of spouses said they were physically or verbally abused by the gambler." ("What's Wrong with Gambling?" by Dr. Doug Stauffer)

"The early Christian Church forbade gambling, and even viewed it as grounds for excommunication. The church father Tertullian bluntly stated that a gambler was not a Christian, and a Christian would not be a gambler." -John Gerstner, Reasons for Duty, Soli Deo Gloria, 1995, pp. 106-107

By Bankrate.com

"Living on food stamps: "William 'Bud' Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security. 'I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare,' says Post.

"A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. It wasn't his only lawsuit. A brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla.,--two ventures that brought no money back and further strained his relationship with his siblings.

"Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt. Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy. Now he lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps. 'I'm tired, I'm over 65 years old, and I just had a serious operation for a heart aneurysm. Lotteries don't mean (anything) to me,' says Post."

Deeper in debt:

"Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in Virginia lottery in 1993. Now she's deeply in debt to a company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral."

Back to the basics:

"Ken Proxmire was a machinist when he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. He moved to California and went into the car business with his brothers. Within five years, he had filed for bankruptcy."

These histories go on and on, check it out for yourself on line!

"The most convincing Bible proof is when Jesus hung dying on the cross. The Roman soldiers cared only for who would benefit from His loss. They cast lots to see who would get His clothing." "What's Wrong with Gambling? By Dr. Doug Stauffer

You know if it were me I would stay as far away from gambling as I could! You might want to read a tract that my Father has written; he had a problem with gambling too, before he got saved. After Dad got saved, he even paid back a person $2000 that he had cheated in gambling. You can read his story; it is called "What Happened to Shorty?"

I hope this helps,

Gary T. Panell

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Keywords: gambling, lottery, casino, hardwork, riches, materialism